Recently one of my best friend's told me that velvet "makes her teeth go funny". She said it was "like nails on a blackboard for her" and she loved the idea of it but not the reality. It made me chuckle as I've never heard anyone say that about velvet before. When I think of velvet, I immediately think about how lovely and plush it is and and how much I love the feel of it. It just goes to show, that what you love can be another person's nightmare.

However these days, velvet does seem to be everywhere. Whenever I scroll through Instagram, I come across velvet sofa, after velvet sofa, and it forever makes me jealous that I don't have a velvet sofa in my life. Yep, I'm particularly talking about the Love Your Home Ottilie floral number here, which is 100% at the top of my interiors lust list. I mean, just. look. at. it. I'd definitely take the Swoon Editions Berlin sofa too - maybe I could have one of each?!

I think some people are scared by velvet. Not just for the making your teeth go funny reason, but because it can look a bit cheap, especially if it's over-used. There is also a fine line, in my opinion, between velvet and faux suede or chenille. If you're going to go there, then you really want to have the real thing and not a cheap imitation.

But how do you incorporate velvet into your home so that it works with the rest of your space? Well, here are a few tips for you...

INTRODUCE A LITTLE VELVET INTO YOUR LIFE

It's actually really easy to bring a little bit of velvet into your home without going for something as big as a velvet sofa. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a big velvet sofa and I'd eventually like to replace our sofas with just that, but it's probably a good idea to have some velvet in your home before you commit to a big old expensive sofa. The high street is packed with velvet homeware and something as simple as a cushion or a bedspread are a great way to try velvet out in your home and see if you like it.

I was recently sent this very cool footstool from Cult Furniture and it's fitted perfectly into my tropical and midcentury style living room, with its retro style brass hairpin legs. It's lovely and soft and it's the perfect height for our sofas, so I can put my feet up whilst working on my computer in the living room!

MIX VELVET UP WITH OTHER MATERIALS

I think this is a big piece of interiors advice to take on board, as if you go crazy with velvet, then it can definitely be overkill. I know, this is coming from me who clashes every tropical pattern under the sun in her home! Seriously though, if you really do love the idea of velvet, then mix it up with the rest of your furniture and homeware, integrating it with the likes of rattan, wood, cotton, linen, wool or brass. That way you'll achieve a high end look and make the velvet really stand out amidst the rest of your room.

I've achieved this in our bedroom (I hope!), where I've mixed industrial style lighting and rattan accessories alongside scandi style midcentury furniture, with our new velvet midcentury style chair. This is also from Cult Furniture and I just love it! We used to have a vintage rattan chair in its place, and I always felt that was a bit too boho, where as the velvet chair definitely adds more of a luxe feel to the room.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO MIX UP HIGH STREET & VINTAGE VELVET

Velvet is not a new thing in homeware. You can often pick up vintage velvet chairs, pouffes and even sofas, if you do want to be bold with it, from retro stores, flea markets or antique shops. Whilst the high street can be really affordable for velvet, second-hand is often a great way to keep costs down too.

I have owned this pink velvet chair for a couple of years and it cost me the grand old price of £5. You heard me right, FIVE POUNDS! I jazzed it up by sewing some tassels along the bottom and they've definitely made it look a bit more chic.

I've added a modern velvet cushion to it, clashing the colours but keeping the material the same, whilst mixing the chair with more modern homeware in the rest of the space. I often get asked about this bargain of a chair!

You can buy my velvet footstool here and my velvet chair here, both from Cult Furniture.

*This post was in collaboration with Cult Furniture and I received the chair and footstool as gifts. As always, I only ever work with brands I love and want to showcase on this blog!*